In The Green Grass
by ScalchopWarrior
Summary: On her birthday, Princess Lucy is swamped down by work, forcing her to stay in her room all day to complete it all. Of course, Natsu isn't letting that stop him. Fairy Tail Royal AU. Stupid NaLu fluff


**AN:**

And so, despite being a fan for forever, I finally dip my tow into the Fairy Tail fandom

 **This'll be fun**

So this was just inspired when we were lying on a grassy hill and thought "Hey, why don't we ship Natsu and Lucy?"

 _And the rest just happened_

 ** _So now you should love this, cherish this, and hate everything else_**

Ignore that part

* * *

Every so often, on his day off of work, Natsu would sneak Princess Lucy out of the castle, just for a day or relaxation. Well, sort of. After it had happened a few times, King Jude had figured out that one of the things all Lucy's disappearances had in common was the same pink haired guard hanging around that part of the castle. So now he had to make a special effort not to be seen. Prowling atop the rooftop unnoticed. Setting a plant aflame to distract other guards. Then, when he was inside, making sure to walk on the red carpets when possible instead of the loud stone floors, hiding around corners if necessary. He had long since memorized the path to Lucy's chambers, and for whatever reason his fellow guards had not caught on that this the way he used, so he made his way up to an unguarded section of roof. There was no need for carpet here, so as he walked along the thin strip of wall leading back inside. Natsu made sure to tread lightly and avoid alerting the guards on the grass below. None of them ever looked up of their own volition, but even the boring, grey hats pulled tightly over their ears couldn't block out the sounds of sandals on stone.

Once he was yet again inside, it was relatively easy to reach the princess's chambers. All it took was hiding around a few walls and he was there. The flair and colour of the room looked jarringly bright after the dark stone corridors, lit by only dim torches. The wooden furniture and the yellow carpet gave the room a sensation of warmth, helped in part by the fire crackling in the grate to combat the cold morning. Natsu was always overwhelmed by the regal feel of the room, but his eyes were invariably drawn to the desk. The papers stacked on one side of it gave the impression that the once serious attempt at neatness had long since been given up on. There was a pot of ink balanced precariously on one corner, teetering whenever the desk shook. Seated at the desk was the very person Natsu was looking for. Princess Lucy. She rose her head from the papers when she heard Natsu approach on the soft carpet, and she flashed him a weak smile.

"Natsu!"

Natsu grinned sheepishly.

"Hey. Ready for another day out?" he said, leaning casually against the wall "I was thinking that we could go to Clover Town when it warms up more, since it's your birthday today, but it's really your choice."

Lucy gave him another smile, and this time he sensed the weariness behind it. She was probably worn out from all the paperwork. Natsu crossed "swimming in Cedar" off of his mental list of things to do, and firmly decided that Lucy was going to have a day of relaxation whether she liked it or not.

"Natsu, I can't." Lucy said tiredly

He frowned.

"But it's your birthday."

"I have lots of paperwork today, Natsu."

"But it's your birthday."

"Today is a busy day for me."

"But…" Natsu waved his arms about, trying to get across in words why "birthday" didn't mean "cooped up doing paperwork". How it meant celebrating, hanging out with friends, doing fun things. But the words weren't there, so he settled for the lame answer

"But it's your birthday..."

Despite herself, Lucy let out a girlish giggle. He had made her laugh. That was certainly a good sign.

"Natsu, you've said that three times." she said, smiling warmly "My birthday doesn't make the papers all magically disappear for twenty-four hours."

He shrugged.

"Well, whether you like it or not, you're having a day off today." Natsu said, crossing her arms firmly "Even if I have to carry you out myself."

"Natsu, that's kidnapping."

"Mmhmm."

"That's treason."

"Yep."

"You could get thrown in jail for that."

"Prisons hold no power over me. So, are you ready to go yet?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, at this rate I'm not going to get any work done, so-"

"Great!"

An eager grin spread across Natsu's face, and he had grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the door before she had even finished standing up.

"So where do you want to go first?"

* * *

Natsu hated riding the train, with his extreme motion sickness. However, enjoyed riding it with Princess Lucy, because she would always came up to the window to feel the wind on her face, which also happened to have the effect of her getting so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her skin and her breath on his neck. Sometimes he wondered whether she did it because she knew this, or if she considered it a happy side effect of her actions. But he also often wondered whether that was wishful thinking on his part, his mind creating something between them that was, in actuality, non-existent. More often than not, though, he just enjoyed her company and the warmth it brung until they reached their destination. Which, today, was a rather nice grassy area near Acalypha right for a day of doing nothing.

As usual, Natsu hopped down from the train, then turned to help Lucy. She waved her hand to indicate that she could help herself down, and jumped off the train to stand beside him. Grass waved slightly in the gentle breeze, like an infinity of green dancers swaying to an unheard melody. A short walk from the train was one of the small hills that dotted the grassy land. Lucy pointed towards it.

"Let's go over there!" she said enthusiastically "I bet we could see the castle from the top."

Natsu grinned.

"Race ya."

She frowned.

"Natsu, that's unfair. You know how hard it is to run in a dress."

But Natsu had already set off, so she shook her head and followed him.

By the time she reached him, he was already at the bottom of the hill. Natsu was leaning over, hands on knees, panting and dizzy. He looked up at her.

"Beat...you...ha!.."

And with that, he keeled over backwards into the long soft grass. Lucy came and stood over him.

"I thought I was the one that needed rest."

"Never...been...healthier!"

She sat next to him, using the hill as a backrest. After a while, where the only noticeable sound was Natsu's heavy breathing as he tried to get his breath back, he sat up. Lucy had been staring at the train beforehand, so it came as a shock when she reached over and snatched his scarf. His head snapped round to face her.

"Hey!"

She made sure to hide the scarf behind her back as Natsu lazily tried to grab it. When that failed, he glared at her, although there was no menace behind the stare.

"What was that for?"

Lucy reached over to ruffle his pink hair.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without your scarf before."

"Well did it occur to you that that's because I like it? Gimme."

He made another pathetic attempt at grabbing it and lost his balance, falling over onto Lucy. There was a silence so awkward that it would have made the most committed extrovert feel uncomfortable. Finally, Natsu coughed, stood up, and headed back to the train, mumbling to himself

"I Ned tgt smfm vroom the turn" he said, probably meaning to be "I need to get something from the train". As he shuffled off, Lucy realised that she still had his scarf.

"Natsu, you forgot your-" she began, but he was already too far away to hear.

When Natsu returned, he had a strange, almost bashful look on his face, and one hand hidden behind his back. However, Lucy noticed none of these things; she was mesmerized by the swaying of Natsu's hair, brought on by the wind. Whilst it was going in the same direction as the grass, it had a less refined look about it. One of the dancers had clearly not only forgotten to learn the dance, but had come in the wrong color costume as well.

Natsu cleared his throat, and Lucy broke her gaze from the stray strands of hair to focus on his face. A face which was now blushing as its owner tried to get the right words out. They stayed there for a while, Lucy staring up at Natsu as his cheeks reddened and his pink hair swayed and he nervously adjusted the belt on his tunic. Eventually, Natu opened his mouth to speak, but the words tumbled out so quickly that it was an effort for Lucy to understand him.

"IwantedtogiveyouflowersasapresentbutIcouldn'tfindanysoIpickedsomegrassbecauseit'syourbirthdayandIwantedtogiveyousomethingandit'sthebestgrassIcouldfindandhere!"

And with that he thrust the rather bedraggled strands of grass in her face, waiting for approval. Lucy decided that if she hesitated any longer, Natsu's face would permanently turn the color of his hair, so she took the grass and gave him her brightest smile.

"Thank you, Natsu."

He audibly breathed out. A strong wind blew, and Natsu automatically reached up to hold on to his scarf, only to find empty space. He glanced over at Lucy and found her waving it in his face.

"So do you want this back now?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, you can keep it. I'm sure it'll suit you."

At this Lucy wrapped the scaled scarf around her neck, and it looked so ridiculous that Natsu couldn't help but laugh. Soon they had both been reduced to uncontrollable fits of giggles.

Despite how silly it was, Lucy wore the scarf for the rest of the day. It was a quiet day for the most part, although at one point one a bright blue cat landed on Natsu's head, and they were back to laughing again. The cat, for its part, managed to convey as much displeasure as was possible on a cat face, and leaped away, unappreciative of its constantly moving rest. Of course, this only caused Lucy and Natsu to laugh more.

It was almost dark, and neither of them had suggested going back. So instead they sat, huddled together for warmth, leaning against the small hill, almost too tired to talk. When Lucy finally opened her mouth, she yawned before speaking.

"Do you think we should head back?"

"Nah."

"My father will be worried. And Commander Erza will be angry at you."

"We can deal with them tomorrow. All that matters now is that you have a good birthday."

Lucy looked at Natsu out of the corner of her eye.

"Natsu?"

"Mmnnn?"

"Can I ask you for one more present? I mean, the grass was lovely, but..."

Natsu turned to her fully now, his eyes trying to prevent themselves from filling with the mists of sleep. Eventually it would prove to be a fruitless battle, but for now...

"Two presents? From the same person? They must spoil you rotten at the castle."

"Well..."

"Kidding. Your wish is my command, oh great and glorious princess of Fiore."

She took a deep breath. Now was the moment.

"Well, I was wondering...oh noble hero...whether you would possibly...um...give me a kiss?"

Despite his sleepy state, Natsu sat up in shock.

"What?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"Oh, no, no, no." Natsu said, desperately attempting to put her worries at ease. "I'd love to kiss you!...Wait, did that come out too eager?"

Now it was Lucy's turn to be reassuring.

"Of course not." she said, biting her lip nervously. "So..."

Natsu nodded, and leaned forward with her, to meet in the middle. Their noses bumped, and they only managed to lightly brush each other's lips in the end, but to two thirteen year olds, on their own in the dark, it felt like the entire world had shifted to contain that much more joy. Still, that didn't stop their tiredness. Soon they were curled up next to each other, using the other as a pillow, Lucy still wearing Natsu's scarf. Undoubtedly, Natsu would be roughly shaken awake in the morning by a yelling Erza, being told that they had "worried the King to death", "caused a nation wide panic", "put the entire kingdom at risk", and "disturbed my beauty sleep" but for now, that didn't matter. Because Natsu had just kissed the princess, and he was now drifting to sleep with her warm body curled up against his.

* * *

 **Well...**

 _ **That sucked**_

 _BYE NOW_


End file.
